Local Plan 2011-2031 Proposed Submission Draft

1) Reference is made to the construction of a new primary school. However, this will be one form entry only (approximately 30 children per year). This is unlikely to accommodate the number of new children the local plan will likely bring. The existing school is already under significant pressure and this will only increase. There is also no provision for when the new school will be built. Will this be before any of the new homes are built, or half way through, or at the end. If it is anything other than before any new homes are built, there are going to be serious difficulties in getting local Knebworth primary children into a Knebworth school.

2) The plan makes no firm provision regarding secondary education. Again, this is an area already under considerable pressure as Knebworth has no obviously placed secondary school. To introduce a significant number of children into an area without giving any firm thought to how they will be educated seems short sighted. To delay this to a later date risks it being overtaken by other issues and ultimately forgotten. Why not bottom out the issue now?

3) Despite identifying the traffic problems of Knebworth there is no provision for how the local plan will alleviate these problems, which can only be made worse by the introduction of so many new houses. The high street is frequently at a standstill and in my view simply removing parking restrictions will not prevent this. The true reason is simply a backlog from the Stevenage roundabout at Broadwater and the A1 roundabout towards WGC. Again, to defer considering this issues risks it not being considered at all.

4) The plan highlights the importance of a balance between new development and ensuring continued vitality of the local centre without giving any indication of how this will be achieved. If the congestion within Knebworth through the high street becomes too great people will avoid it completely, and in any event it is likely that current parking provisions will be completely swamped if this development goes ahead. How then will the centre thrive? There is no indication that any additional facilities will be built despite existing facilities being already under pressure due to the size of the village. Whilst there are plans for a new library/doctor's my understanding is that these will not be any larger.

5) The local plan references transport but again does not suggest how clearly foreseeable problems will be resolved. Trains into London are already full. If commuting into London becomes too difficult then people will not want to live in Knebworth. There is also a forthcoming transport consultation which may make this problem even more pressing.